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Education & Outreach

Goal

  1. Create a unified and streamlined method for the sustainability commission to communicate information efficiently and effectively to continuously provide information to the people of Norwood on living sustainable lives and how the town is supporting this goal.

Strategies

  1. Explore the usage of multiple forms of media (social media, newspaper, public access, word of mouth, etc.) to disseminate information on green initiatives.
  2. Make Town sponsored events more green (lead by example).
  3. Determine and provide benchmarks and metrics to measure how the Town is doing.
  4. Recruit other town members to assist at various events.
  5. Coordinate with existing groups in Town to amplify sustainable efforts. 
  6. Research efforts that are being done in other towns and try to find opportunities for collaboration.
  7. Look at international examples of sustainability education programs that have proven successful.
  8. Create educational sustainability programs through school curriculum and community service.
  9. Reach out to local nonprofits that run environmental education programs to partner on future programming.
  10. Prioritize recruiting individuals from many different communities within Norwood to help facilitate sharing knowledge and ideas to make Norwood as sustainable and equitable as possible.

Narrative

Educating the community on Norwood’s sustainability initiatives and resources is vital in creating a greener Norwood. Our goal is to develop effective, ongoing communication across multiple media platforms that inform and inspire community involvement in town-wide sustainability efforts. We encourage community members to actively participate in sustainability as a public value and service that supports cultural, economic, and environmental health for all citizens.

Multiple forms of communication will be necessary to disseminate information to the people of Norwood. Using various ways to educate residents and businesses about green initiatives, we can not only ensure that the message is reaching all types of constituents, but it increases the number of times they see the message, hopefully increasing the likelihood of action.

Town events must reflect a sense of commitment to sustainability and the environment. This is why Town events should make continuous improvements towards sustainability, such as offering recycling and composting at town events. Norwood Day would be a great opportunity. For example, by requiring vendors to use compostable plates and utensils while the Town provides compost bins next to every trash can, the Town can significantly reduce the amount of solid waste generated by these events. This would also promote composting to everyone who attends.

The Commission would also like to establish metrics on sustainability. These metrics will be available to the public on the Town’s website. Examples of metrics could include the weight of solid waste collected, weight of recyclable material collected, volume or weight of compost accumulated, and total residential energy and water usage. These metrics will allow everyone to track the current status of various sustainability areas and monitor progress and improvement at the town level.